'Jenny, the Penny Princess'

"I'm a penny princess! I'm a penny princess!" Jenny sang and danced around the jacaranda tree, holding her treasure chest full of pennies. Purple blossoms floated down around her. She had been saving pennies for weeks, counting them each time she put another one in the chest. "Now I have enough," she sang out, "to buy, buy, buy -- the golden crown I saw, saw, saw -- at the Dollar Store!"

As she twirled, Jenny slipped and fell on the soft carpet of purple blossoms. The lid of the treasure chest flew open. Pennies scattered everywhere, on the grass, underneath the blossoms, and down the driveway.

"Oh, no!" Jenny yelled as she sat sprawled on the ground. She felt tears begin to roll down her face, but she brushed them away. Then she got up, dusted herself off and quickly began picking up pennies. "Will I find them all?" she asked aloud. When the treasure chest was nearly full, she sat under the tree once more.

"One, two, three -- " Jenny counted until she reached 100. The price on the crown was exactly $1.

"They're all here!" She giggled. "I can still buy that crown and be a penny princess!"

When Grandpa took Jenny to the Dollar Store, she found the golden princess crown right away. She took it to the counter and carefully counted out 100 pennies.

"That'll be $1.08," the woman at the counter said. "But -- Jenny spluttered. "The sign says $1!"

"Eight percent sales tax," the woman said. "Do you want it or not?" she asked.

"I guess not," Jenny said and walked away. Her lower lip was trembling.

"What's the matter, princess?" Grandpa asked as he came around the corner from the office supplies.

Jenny told him what had happened.

"Now I can't be a penny princess!" she wailed.

"Well," Grandpa said, "you found 100 pennies. It shouldn't be hard to find eight more. In fact, I remember a little poem we used to say when I was a boy: 'See a penny, pick it up; all the day you'll have good luck!' If you keep repeating that and look around again, you're bound to find another eight."

Jenny wasn't too sure. Grandpa went back to pick out a notebook, and Jenny glanced at the toys and candy. She didn't really see them. All she could think of was that crown sitting on the counter.

"Say, Jenny," Grandpa called out after a few minutes, "look what's here on the floor."

Jenny went around the corner. A shiny penny winked up at her. She picked it up.

"It's the beginning of your good luck," Grandpa said.